The Bottineau pioneer. (Bottineau, N.D.) 1885-1895, 1887-12-15

fore he reaches his home is obliged, in o
purchase for family use OF an article which
payment of the increase In price which che
tariff permits the hard-earned compensation
Of many days Of toll
WOOL
The Removal or Reduction Of Duties There
ON Suggested, Supported by Exhaustive
Argument.
The farmer or agriculturist who manu-
features nothing but who pays the increased
price which the tariff imposes upon every
agricultural implement, upon all he wears
and upon all he uses and owns. except the
increase Of his 1ocks and herds and such
things as bis husbandry produces from the
soil, ia invited TO aid In ma attaining the
present situation; and he is told that q high
duty on imported wool Is nts, ssary for those
who have sheep to shear, l.. order that the
price OF their wool may b.. increased They,
who has no sheep is by this scheme obliged,
In his purchases of clo.ning and WOODEN
goods, to pay q tribute to his fellow farmer
as well as to the manufacturer and mer-
chant; nor is any mention made of the fact
that the sheep owners themselves and their
households must wear clothing and
use other articles manufactured from the
wool they sell at tariff prices, and thus
as must return their shares
OF this increased price of%the tradesman. I
thinkft may be fairly assumed that a large
proportion of the sheep owned by the farm
ers throughout the country are found in
small focks numbering from TWENTY-FIVE TO
fifty. The duty on the grade OF imported
wool which these sheep yield is ten cents
each pound it of the value OF thirty cents or
less, and twelve cents ii of the value of more
than thirty cents. If the liberal estimate Of
six pounds be allowed for each fleece, the
duty thereon would be sixty or seventy-two
cents, and this may be taken as the utmost
enhancement Of its price to the farmer by
reason of this duty. Eighteen dollars would
thus represent The increased price Of the
wool from twenty-five sheep n $3.50 that
from the wool OF fifty sheep, and at present
values this addition would amount to about
one-third of its price. II upon its sale the
farmer receives this or a less tariff profit, the
wool leaves his hands charged with precisely
that sum, which in all its changes will adj
here to 1t until it reaches the san
When manufactured into cloth and other
goods n material for use, its cost is not
only increased to the extent of the
farmers tariff profit, but a further
sum has been added for the profit
OF the manufacturer under the operation of
there tariff laws In the meantime the day
arrives when the farmer fluids it necessary
to purchase wooden goods and material to
Gothic himself and family for the winter.
When he faces the tradesman for that pur-
pose be discovers that he is obliged not only
to return, in the way of increased prices. his
tariff profit on the wool he sold, and which
then perhaps lies before him In manufact-
ured form, but that he must add q consider
able sum thereto to meet a further increase
In cost caused by a tariff duty on the manu
facture. Thus in the end he ia aroused to
the fact that he has paid upon a moderate
purchase as a result of the tariff scheme,
which, when he sold his WOOL, seemed so
profitable,
AN INCREASE IN PRICE
more than sufficient to sweep away all the
tariff profit he received upon the wool he
farmers engaged in wool raising is compared
with ali the farmers in the country, and the
small proportion they bear to our popula-
ton is considered; when 1t is made apparent
tnat, IN the case OF a large part of those who
own sheep. the benefit of the present tariff
on wool is iliusory, and. above all, when it
must be conceded that the increase OF
the cost Of living caused by such
tariff becomes a burden upon those
with moderate. means and the poor, the
employed AND unemployed, the sick and
well. and the young and old, and that iG con-
stitutes q tax which, with relentless grasp,
Ia fastened upon the clothing of every man,
oma and child in the land, reasons are
snggested why the removal or reduction of
this duty should be included i'll q revision OF
QUE baIlA ldWA III sp0dkluS Oh Inc tnCF0aS0u
Scost-tO the consumer Of our home manufact-
ures. resulting from a duty laid upon i'm
ported articles OF the same description, the
fact ia not overlooked that competition
among our domestic producers sometimes
has the effect OF keeping the price of their
products below the highest limit allowed by
such duty. But it is notorious that this com
petition is too often strangled by combina-
ions quite prevalent at this time, and fire.
quently called trusts. which have for their
object The regulation OF the supply and price
of commodities made and sold by members
of the combination. The people can barely
hope for any consideration In the operation
OF these selfish schemes. II, however, in
the absence of such combinations. O healthy
and free competition reduces the price Of
any particular dutiabie article of home pro-
duction, below the limit which it might 9th
erwise reach under our tariff laws, and II,
with such reduced price. its manufacture
continue to thrive, 1t is entirely evident
that one thing has been discovered which
should be carefully scrutinized in an effort
to reduce taxation. The necessity Of COM
bination to maintain the price Of any COM
modify to the tariff point furnishes proof
that some a ts willing to accept lower
prices for sllch cOmmoditv, and that such
prices are remunerative; and lower prices
produced by competition prove the same
thing. Thus where either Of these condi-
lions exist Q case would seem to be pre-
sented for an easy reduction of taxation. The
considerations which have been presented
touching our tariff laws are intended only to
enforce an earnest Recommendation that the
surplus reyenueof the government be pre-
vented by the
/ REDUCTION OF oUR CUSTOMS DUTIES.
and, at the same time, to emphasize q sug-
gestion that in accomplishing this purpose
we may discharge adoubie duty to our peO-
pie by granting to them a measure OF relief
from tariff taxation in quarters where It Ia